Escape from Haai Territory
by Luxurien
Summary: Itachi is a police officer aboard the intergalactic police force's Cuvier Ship #35 who gets left behind during a raid against an alien shark species. Sasuke promises to find or avenge his brother and somehow ends up on Captain Jiraiya's ship where he meets an annoying Loadmaster, Naruto. Also YahiKo, KimiNaga
1. Left for Dead

Escape from Haai Terrritory – Chapter 1: Left for Dead

Summary: Itachi is a police officer aboard the intergalactic police force's Cuvier Ship #35. In a raid against the alien shark-like species known as the Haai, Itachi gets left behind, assumed to have died. Now he's stuck in enemy territory and must find a way to get to safety. Surprisingly, he finds a friend in a defector among their own species - a Haai known as Kisame.  
>-.-.-<p>

Warning: None in this chapter but there will be yaoi/slash in the future.

Pairings: Kisame x Itachi, Yahiko x Konan, Sasuke x Naruto, Nagato x Kimimaro

-.-.-

"We're approaching the premises." Sasuke Uchiha said, his mic amplifying his voice through the Cuvier as he mapped out the position of every starfighter. "What are your orders, Admiral?"

Admiral Fugaku Uchiha stood at the top of the bridge, eyeing the large hologram of the area before them. "Check that everyone is in position, if so begin attack immediately. We need the element of surprise."

"Crow checking in, all systems go." Itachi Uchiha called through his mic from his starfigher.

"Flicker checking in, all systems go." Shisui Uchiha called through his own mic from the Starfighter.

One by one, every fighter pilot aboard the Cuvier Intergalactic Police Starcruiser called in. After the last one did, Fugaku gave his order. "Go!"

The gates opened and eight starfighters exited the large starcruiser and zoomed into dark space – ahead of them was a large blue planet with a noticeable hub – that was their destination. In addition to the eight starfighters, four shuttles carrying ground units in heavy mechanized suits with weapons were heading to the destination.

Itachi maneuvered his own fighter through space, leading the assault. He aimed his missiles towards the hub and called through the mic.

"Ready?"

"Ready."

"Ready."

"GO."

Eight fighters simultaneously attacked the hub, unleashing a barrage of missiles. There was a response immediately as the alien species within finally noticed they were under attack. The missiles continued their assault but soon the alien species was retaliating. They shot back towards the fighters who were truly serving as a distraction for the shuttles to land on the planet.

Itachi piloted his fighter to the right side to avoid a missile in his direction and – BAM! His fighter flew out of control, jolting Itachi as he struggled to regain control of his pilot – but it was a lost cause. Automatic safety measures kicked in and his fighter was on fire and being rapidly pulled in by the gravitational force of the blue planet.

_Just my luck._

A moment later Itachi's fighter crash landed on the planet – if not for the fact that there was so much water, or some liquid resembling water, he would have taken significantly more damage. Nonetheless, Itachi couldn't risk that this watery substance had the same properties as water, if his fighter was on fire in an unknown liquid common sense said get the hell out of the liquid.

Itachi popped the hood of his fighter and swam into the water, heading for the only land there was – close to the Hub that was under attack. If he was lucky, the mechanized infantry would find him. If he wasn't… Well… Itachi was in Haai territory.

The Haai were a shark-like alien species that had a tendency towards war and fighting. Although their main governing planet was not at war with any species, they had many smaller groups – or pirates rather, who would attack any ship on sight for its supplies and parts or whatever else it is that they desire. About half of the Haai population consisted of criminals and rogues to the species itself, making it difficult to declare war on them when permission to kill them on sight already existed – they were hunted by all species for their crimes. Basically, they were a menace to the Intergalactic Alliance, but they were too strong – strong enough that the Alliance didn't have the power to destroy them on their own, which is saying something.

Itachi had a bad feeling that he wasn't going to survive this. As he approached land, Itachi noticed a small cave which he hastily swam into. It was very well hidden and if he hadn't been coming from that exact angle there was a good chance he would've missed it entirely.

The water level in the cave was fairly low – Itachi could stand up and walk. His pilot suit was heavy from being drenched in water, yet Itachi decided it would be better to keep it on.

Pressing some buttons on the side of his helmet, Itachi attempted to reach the mothership. No response.

Itachi sighed, walking deeper into the cave. He couldn't draw too much attention to himself to let the others know where he was, he would just end up calling the Haai towards him. That meant the best chance for survival was to wait it out until he heard the signal from the infantry that the hub was taken and the Haai destroyed.

"Well, well… What's a human like you doing in a place like this?" A deep raspy voice asked.

Itachi froze and peered into the darkness next to him. It was a Haai.

"I…"

"You're the fighter that was shot down."

"Yes." Itachi had no weapon on him. His weapon was the fighter itself. Itachi's hand to hand combat abilities weren't that bad, but would he stand a chance against a Haai?

"It was lucky you managed to find this cave, no one else has ever done it."

"You did."

"Yes but this is _my _cave. I saw you crash outside and swim over."

_Damn. He'd noticed me that long ago?_

"What are you going to do to me?"

"Nothing. I'm actually intrigued as to why you aren't making your way to the hub where the infantry can find you."

"That would be a death wish."

"So is staying here."

"Are you threatening me?"

The Haai stepped closer into the light and laughed, a deep throaty laugh. Itachi could make out his features now – he was not a typical Haai. Yes, he had the same shark-like characteristics like the clammy blue fish skin, the deep ridged gills, piercing golden fish eyes and sharp pointed vampire teeth which existed to draw blood. However, he appeared more… human? He had less sharky characteristics, for example his face didn't come forward out of his body in a curvature and he didn't have a fin on his back. In addition, he had _hair_. Haai do not have hair. This one did – he had dark navy blue hair that was pulled up.

"I'm not threatening you, simply stating the obvious."

"Are you half human?" Itachi asked curiously, his concern for safety masked by his interest. If curiosity really did kill the cat, Itachi would be dead due to his thirst for knowledge. If it wasn't part of the family business and his parents hadn't pressured him into it, he would never have joined the Intergalactic Police Force or become a pilot – he would've done something in research, probably physics.

The Haai looked offended. "Human? Like you? As if! I'm 100% Haai."

"But you have hair."

The Haai gave Itachi a strange look. "You don't know much about Haai, do you?"

"I'd like to." Itachi acknowledged.

"So you can use it to kill us all?"

"I hadn't thought of that." Itachi said, surprise lighting his features. "Though I suppose war would be the inevitable result if the Alliance learned of any weakness among the Haai. Your species is not favorable Intergalactically."

"You speak so formally."

"We aren't friends."

"That's not something you want to remind the one who could kill you."

"I could kill you too."

The sharkman made a noise of disbelief with a smirk. "With what? Your fighter was blown into the water."

"You don't know what weapons I possess."

"I do, you have none."

"How would you know?"

"I can smell it. Your human weapons have a distinct smell."

Itachi was intrigued. "You can smell weapons? That's amazing."

"You're quite the weasel getting this information out of me. I should kill you."

"If you're going to kill me anyway…" Itachi trailed off. "How about answering some questions first?"

The sharkman stared. "What?"

"I mean… I want to know… I'm always curious. If I have to die, I'd rather die after satisfying just a little bit more of my curiosity." Itachi resigned himself. He couldn't win this battle, not without weapons when his allies were busy fighting their own battle. Outside a loud explosion was heard.

"I've heard humans are too curious for their own good."

"I suppose you heard right." Itachi got closer to the shark man so he could analyze his facial features better. _He's actually not that bad looking…Heh… At least I can say I died by the hands of one sexy shark, not a bad way to go._

"You aren't afraid of me."

"Is that so surprising?"

"It's because you don't know who you're talking to."

"Why don't you enlighten me?"

"The name's Hoshigaki Kisame." The man proclaimed as if Itachi should recognize it. No bells were rung.

"What a nice name." Itachi commented, hoping it was sufficient.

The sharkman burst out into laughter once more, surprising Itachi. "Alright kid, I'll answer your questions."

"I'm 26."

"And I'm 73."

Itachi's eyes widened. "You don't look it. By human standards you look like you're perhaps 30."

"Haai live to be an average of 300 years." Kisame commented. "73 years would mean I'm basically only a young adult by my species standards. Besides, a human year is a different measurement from a Haai year."

"Good point, what's the conversion?"

"I already converted. I'm 73 years by human measurement."

"Oh. What's the conversion anyway?"

"4.55:1, Haai: Human."

"What did you mean earlier when you said I don't know anything about Haai?"

"There are different types of Haai. The ones you are most acquainted with are the kind that live primarily in the water. I am the kind that lives primarily in land. The two don't mix well."

"That's the only difference?"

"Aside from culture and such, yes. In the land we reign supreme, in the water, they do. We avoid each other."

"Why should I know you?"

"You shouldn't, you're a human."

"Fair enough."

And so the two conversed on Haai, the attack of the hub and other things for the next few hours. Somewhere in the middle, Itachi had taken his helmet off. As it got dark, Itachi sighed. It was more or less time to go.

"This was fun, Kisame." Itachi said with a genuine smile. "Please make it quick."

"Make what quick?"

"You're going to kill me."

"Why?"

"Well I…" Itachi's mind blanked for a moment. "Didn't you say you were going to do that?"

"I never said I was going to kill you. I just said I _should _kill you. There's a difference."

"Then why'd you answer my questions? What if I went and gave this information to the Intergalactic Alliance?"

"I don't think you could use any of it against us."

"Good point…" Although it was all interesting information, none of it could really be used against the Haai.

"Besides, I wouldn't care even if you did kill them all… I have no interest in them."

"You don't?" Itachi asked, tilting his head to the side in surprise.

"They are traitors to me… I have no loyalty towards the Haai. I'm on the run myself."

"So we're both kind of screwed here." Itachi offered.

"Pretty much."

"Well…" Itachi said, his mind whirring with possibilities. "Why don't we team up and get the hell out of here?"

Kisame observed Itachi for a while. "And go where?"

"You said you always wanted to command your own spaceship right?"

"Yeah."

"Get a spaceship. We will get out of here, get a spaceship for you, and get me back home."

"How the hell are we going to get a spaceship?"

"We can think about that after we get out of here. We'll both be killed if we're found right?"

"Fair enough but in case you haven't noticed we need a ship to get out."

"I did notice. Let's wait for the assault on the hub to finish before we raid the place for supplies, a computer and possibly a small ship. We need a map as well. If we play our cards right we can get everything we need."

"… Alright."

Itachi beamed and held out his hand, "to an alliance?"

Kisame raised an eyebrow and watched Itachi. "Is that some kind of weird human tradition?"

"Yes, we shake hands when we greet or make an alliance or something."

"I'll break your arm if we try to shake hands."

Itachi pulled his arm back. "On second thought…"

Kisame laughed. "This will be fun."

-.-.-

"I hate this." Nagato seethed as he counted the packages inside the crate, whipping his face around for a moment to get his deep red bangs out of his eyes.

"Just a little bit longer." Yahiko said, his long slender fingers closing shut the crates. "We'll get out of here."

"Why not go now? We can find a way to survive. We survived before and we can do it again. We don't need these bastards." Konan said, a hint of anger in her voice.

Yahiko sighed. "If only it were that easy… Let's just read what we can in our spare time so we can get a job on a starship. I want us all to have a more stable life."

Nagato and Konan nodded. Yahiko was their leader – they would follow him to the depths of hell.

-.-.-

"Admiral, there is no sign of Crow and the mechanized infantry have been killed. Mission is a failure." Sasuke said bitterly, holding back tears. His brother. _His Brother._ It took every ounce of his being to not go down to the engineering deck, take a starfighter and go searching for his brother himself. It would be a suicide mission, sure, but what else could he do? He felt hopeless.

Fugaku Uchiha sighed, his eyes closed momentarily. He had to think about the wellbeing of everyone. "Prepare the FTL drives and call the starfighters back to the gate." The Haai were more prepared than had been first anticipated. Did this mean they were expecting trouble? The likely death of his son left Fugaku feeling sickened, yet he refused to show that emotion. He was the Admiral and had to remain calm.

Sasuke let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding. _I'll kill you. I'll every last one of you Haai bastards. But first… I'll come back and search for my brother myself. I will find him._

-.-.-


	2. Starships

Escape from Haai Territory - Chapter 2: Starships

-.-.-

"Father! Have you gotten word yet? Can we go back for Itachi?" Sasuke barged into the Admiral's office, not bothering to knock or ask for permission. Sasuke had been attempting to speak to his father all day, and so far his efforts had been futile.

"Sasuke, it is against regulations to barge in like this. And while on duty, you will refer to me as Admiral." Fugaku Uchiha responded harshly.

"What about Itachi?!" Sasuke ignored his father's harshness.

Fugaku sighed. "I'm sorry, Sasuke. I miss him too, but we have to move on. We have to accept he's probably died since he hit enemy territory. The most we can hope for is that he will not give any information to the enemy if he did manage to survive."

"That's the most we can hope for?!" Sasuke asked in rage, his face contorting in hatred. "What kind of attitude is that? You should be more concerned! He is your _**son**_."

"I know he is!" Fugaku dropped his calm demeanor and slammed his palm on his desk. "Don't you think I want to go out there and tear that planet apart myself?! But dammit Sasuke I have a ship to command! I can't just leave them to go on an expedition of my own free will." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, the stress of the situation obvious on his features. "There is nothing we can do Sasuke."

"... There is and I will do it!" Sasuke responded angrily. "I quit."

"You what? Sasuke, you can't quit."

"I just did." Sasuke's eyes challenged his father's.

"Sasuke, you would be bringing shame to the Uchiha-."

"I don't care about the Uchiha name!" Sasuke angrily turned around, his hands balled into fists. "I care about my brother!"

Sasuke stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

-.-.-

"Tell me about the structure of the hub, any possible guards or other entrances, or just anything you know." Itachi had picked up some sort of space rock and was planning to use the cave walls as a paper on which to formulate an attack.

"Don't worry about that, let's just go in." Kisame shrugged, curious about the rock Itachi had picked up.

"No, we have to plan carefully or we will both get killed."

"You underestimate me."

"Never underestimate the enemy." Itachi said seriously, scribbling a circle on the wall to represent the hub.

"Well... I don't know too much but generally speaking a place like this would have a storage room which may contain a small ship - but it won't have the fuel or power to get us to another planet. We would need one of the larger star crafts which are full of Haai."

"Then we need to get the Haai to evacuate a Star craft." Itachi said thoughtfully. "Do you know where such a Star craft would be?"

"Yes, there is one on the other side of the planet. If we steal a small ship we could fly to the starcraft." Kisame said. "But how will we get them to evacuate?"

"Simple, emergency protocols that generally call for evacuation."

"Such protocols are rare and in Haai ships very difficult to trigger."

"Well, tell me what type of event could cause such a protocol to trigger." Itachi turned around now, his eyes focusing intently on Kisame. He sat cross-legged on the cave floor.

Kisame sat down across from Itachi and sighed, realizing this was a lost cause. He would have to explain things instead of go in hacking and slashing like he preferred to do.

"Well... One situation is oxygen running out, a chemical spill, overheating of the mainframe..."

"Oxygen is a great one, we can use that."

"Itachi if we turn the oxygen off or break the tanks, we will die on that ship."

"I know. We just have to convince them it's broken, not actually break it."

"And how exactly do you plan to do that? Keep in mind if we break the ship, we get a broken ship. Whatever we do to it will affect us too."

"Well we just have to get the oxygen radars to go off. If we simply cover the radars up wouldn't that trigger the protocol?"

"Sure but there are so many oxygen radars, we don't know where they are located and even if we did we would have to cover them all up simultaneously. In a ship the size of the starcraft I'm talking about we would need at least 15 people to cover it."

"Hmm good point..." Itachi seemed to think for a moment. "Maybe we can get small robots or something similar in the supply hub to aid is in our cause?"

"We can try, but it's a big maybe."

"If not we can figure something else out. Now about getting to the supply hub... Is it practical? Or should we walk to the starcraft?"

Kisame huffed. "I keep telling you, you underestimate me. I can just walk into the hub and handle it. Get whatever we need."

"Why? I thought you were on the run."

"I meant I'd fight and kill them all, not that I'd walk in and pretend to be a friend."

Itachi stared. "Are you serious? Our mechanized infantry couldn't handle it, there is no way you can."

"You insult me." Kisame pretended to look offended.

"I don't want you dying. We are allies." Itachi furrowed his brow, thinking. "We will find another way."

"I won't die."

"I'm not risking it, and that's final."

"And who made you the boss?" Kisame was now dangerously close to Itachi, accusing him.

"No one is the boss, Kisame." Itachi responded with no fear, dangerously staring back into Kisame's eyes. "I'm merely stating I will not accept the plan. As a team we cannot go through with a plan until all members agree to it."

Kisame was taken aback. No, not by the human concern Itachi was showing him, nor by his innocent concept of "team" which was completely unlike what the shark had grown up viewing a team as. No, what shook him to the core was the human's complete lack of fear and impassive expression as he spoke, calmly giving his logical perspective in the face of an obvious danger.

"Okay." Kisame caved. He could humor the human for now. "If I had to guess the lowest level would have the storage compartments, and that's where we should head. I can create an entrance for us so we don't have to deal with guards but most likely the breaking of the walls will trigger an alarm and the other Haai will come to investigate."

"Then making an entrance is a bad idea. Also, why would you have created the entrance? Can't we find a way around the guards?"

"Dealing with the guards is doable but we will likely be stopped by checkpoints requiring DNA fingerprints. Most likely it will create an alarm anyway."

"Good point. In that case, an entrance is the only way. Perhaps we can cut off the power so no alarm goes off?"

"That's a good plan, the hub is powered by the energy of the water pressure below the surface. Even most Haai can't handle water pressures as high as the ones that exist where the power is generated. If we can break it, there will be no alarm."

"But how will we break it?"

"I can do it."

"You just said even Haai can't do it."

"Yeah but I can."

"Why do you keep volunteering to do what sound like dangerous things?" Itachi asked, exasperated. "I'm trying to keep us alive."

"And so am I. I live dangerously, and this isn't nearly as dangerous as some of the things I've done before. Just trust my abilities, you don't know them yet."

"..." Itachi didn't answer right away.

_If he dies I'll be stuck in Haai territory alone, I don't want that..._

"I really don't want you to die."

"I won't." Kisame made a weird face. "Also your concern freaks me out. Stop."

Itachi flinched at the words. "I'm not concerned for your sake, I'm concerned for mine."

"Of course." Kisame's expression gave no indication of how he felt about the last statement. "Now, listen to me... This is how we will do it..."

-.-.-

Sasuke walked through the market of the strange planet his father had dropped him off on. He had spent most of his life working and with whatever time he had to spare he stayed in his parents' home. As a result, he had a moderate amount of money saved up, and he intended to use it all to find Itachi. His first goal was finding a ship to get him off this planet, and to a bigger one where he could find a fool willing to go to Haai territory. Otherwise, he'd have to buy his own ship and go himself. Either way was fine by him.

This planet was barren and empty, even the bazaar that Sasuke walked through was barely full. It was obvious it was a poor planet. Yet, Sasuke had hope. He had seen several large starships in the area, some of which were clearly privately owned as they had no commercial images on them.

"Naruto! We can't keep stopping to look for ramen! We need to head back to the ship." A girl with pink hair scolded her blonde friend as they passed by Sasuke.

_Back to the ship? I wonder what ship those two are on. _Sasuke wondered as he passed, heading towards the area where many ships were parked. He planned to see if any captain would be willing to give him a spot.

As he approached he noticed a man with long, spikey white hair attempt to seduce a woman.

_How annoying. _Sasuke thought, passing by.

"Come on, come on, I'm even a captain of a starcraft!" The man boasted.

Sasuke stopped where he stood, his attention turning towards the man.

_He looks just foolish enough to go to Haai territory… I wonder if he's selling a spot on his ship..._

Sasuke approached the man and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Eh?" The man turned to face Sasuke. "What do you want?"

"Ohh, you're cute." The woman he was hitting on winked at Sasuke.

"What? Him? Come on, I'm-."

"You said you're the captain of a starcraft, right?"

"Huh? Oh yes, I am the great captain Jiraiya." The man crossed his arms and peered down at Sasuke with a smile.

_Am I supposed to know who he is?_

"Which direction is your starcraft headed?"

"Why do you ask?"

"I wish for passage to other planets, and would be willing to pay my way."

At the promise of money the man's face lit up. "Well, we can go many ways… We go wherever the money is."

_Perfect. _Sasuke thought.

"In that case I can offer a sizeable sum if you're willing to take me to a planet near the Dandelion Galaxy. You just need to drop me off and I'd be willing to pay well for your trouble."

The man thought about this for a moment. "That's awfully close to Haai territory."

"Yes, but you only need to be there for a brief time. As soon as we are close enough for me to fly there on my own, I will handle the rest by myself. I do not need you to go too far. However, you must remain in contact with me to pick me up should I seek it."

The man continued to think. "And I only have to skirt the edges?"

"Yes."

"How much will you pay?"

"150,000 Seo to go there and 150,000 to pick me up after."

"Make it 200,000 there and 200,000 back."

"Deal."

"Deal." Jiraiya held out his hand, and Sasuke shook it.

The woman who was flirting with Jiraiya previously noticed this exchange and smiled at Sasuke. "Hey hon-."

"Don't." Sasuke stopped her with a raise of his hand. "Not interested."

-.-.-

"Wait here until the power goes out, than wait for me to get back. You know how to pilot these ships right?" Kisame clutched the handle of a large, bandaged sword as he spoke.

"Of course I do!" Itachi responded in indignation.

"Just making sure… Last time you piloted one you ended up in the water with a burning ship. Forgive me for doubting your abilities."

"Just cut the power."

"Bossy, bossy." Kisame smirked his toothy smirk. "I'll be right back."

Itachi hid himself near the hub where Kisame said they would create an entrance, it was near the water and well hidden among the rocks. His only job was to stay alive.

_I hope he doesn't get himself killed… How does he plan to stop the power under such intense pressure? Those blades swirling in the ocean deep could destroy anything even if the pressure doesn't…_ Itachi was filled with dread and concern for his new partner and spent the next twenty or so minutes going through scenarios of what to do if the Haai never returned.

After about twenty minutes, Itachi could hear some commotion going on above – the power must've been cut!

Itachi was filled with hope and actually smiled, but calmed himself not long after. This was a pivotal point. He had to avoid getting caught – which shouldn't be hard considering most Haai would assume the problem was with faulty wiring within the structure and were unlikely to come out – but if he did get caught he could do nothing. It was dark for one, but for two, he had no weapons.

Itachi lay in wait for about ten minutes before he closed his eyes and feared for the worst.

"Hey! What are you doing here?!"

Itachi's ears perked and he froze.

"Must be one of the leftovers from the attack earlier!"

Itachi turned to see three Haai at a distance, approaching him.

"He must be the cause of the outage! First one there gets his liver!" Immediately all three Haai went running towards him at an incredible speed and Itachi's life flashed before his eyes.

A sickening sound of skulls cracking was heard as two of the Haai had their brains smashed together by Kisame, who was soaking and bloody with open wounds. The third Haai stopped when he heard the crack and barely had time to turn around before his head was chopped off by Kisame's precious Samehada blade.

"I told you to hide!"

"You're wounded!"

Kisame growled as he approached Itachi with a fast speed. For the briefest moment, Itachi was afraid. Kisame was fast, he was dangerous, and he just killed three Haai without even flinching. The next, Kisame was crouched next to Itachi, concern in his eyes.

"It was lucky I got here before they did."

"Your wounds…" Itachi frowned, there were several open wounds throughout Kisame's body, slashes as if he was attacked by a blade. Luckily none were too deep, but he was bleeding. Red. Haai also bled red, just like humans.

"Don't worry about them. Let's make our entrance before more find us." Kisame said.

"No, you'll die of blood loss, let me bandage your wounds first."

"No, I won't. You don't know how much blood a Haai needs to lose to die, and you don't know how fast we heal. Just trust me, get that ship, and bandage me after. We are dead meat otherwise and this chance won't come again."

"Okay." Itachi nodded.

Kisame clutched his Samehada and turned towards the hub, stepping towards it and getting ready to slash it.

A moment later, Kisame began his assault onto the hub, destroying it to the best of his ability and finally managing to cut a small enough portion off to enter.

"I wonder how they haven't noticed us yet." Itachi wondered aloud.

"It's probably because this is the storage, no one comes here unless they need something."

"Good point."

Kisame wedged his blade into the entrance and tore away the piece he had cut, tossing the metal across the ground.

"Okay, you go in and find the best ship, I'll find a manual exit from the storage and open it with my hands."

"On it." Itachi entered the storage only to realize his first problem. It was dark, he could barely see. Outside, there were three moons shining light onto them, in the storage there was nothing. "Or… Maybe not. It's too dark to see."

"Find something for light?" Kisame suggested. "Samehada can see in the dark. Samehada, go get some kind of flashlight or something." Kisame's blade wiggled and opened up, the bandages falling to the floor. Itachi could only see a silhouette in the entrance from the moonlight, but the blade now had spikes all over and was _crawling_.

"Samehada isn't a sword?" Itachi asked, curious about the blade.

"Samehada is a sword… Sort of. She's organic, but she's also crafted. One of the few rare blades in all of Haai history, there are seven total such blades. I just happen to have one."

Itachi froze. Seven blades. There was a legend of the Haai even to humans, that there were seven Haai warriors, the fiercest, noblest and most powerful of their species who wielded seven blades. Could it really be Kisame was one of those powerful warriors? Was Kisame that big of a deal among the Haai?

"Like… of the most powerful warriors in the Haai species?" Itachi's voice had changed and he hadn't even noticed it. It was one of those moments where he again feared for his life as he realized just who he was dealing with.

"Ah, so you have heard of me." Kisame seemed mildly amused as he watched Itachi's expression. "Yeah I'm one of the seven warriors. I didn't know we were known outside the species. Eh. I gave up that life and left, I have other things I want in life."

"A warrior like you could get away with anything." Itachi whispered. "Why are you on the run?"

"Well I suppose… I'm not really on the run. I just wanted to get away from the Haai. I have my own goals."

"What goals?"

"I don't know yet."

"How can you say you have your own goals if you don't know what they are yet?"

Kisame shrugged. "Just because I don't know what they are doesn't mean I don't have them."

"Yes, it does actually."

"Oh look Samehada is back with something."

Clearly this conversation would have to wait. Itachi was disappointed, now that he knew who his new partner was he was so much more interested in his tale and decision to defect.

Itachi couldn't exactly see what went on, but a moment later a light flashed in Kisame's hand and Samehada had attached itself to Kisame's back, its scales sticking to Kisame.

"Alright there are two of these." Kisame said, approaching Itachi. In the light of the small orb like flashlight, Kisame appeared even more monstrous than earlier.

But Itachi wasn't afraid. If Kisame wanted him dead, he would've killed him when he had the chance. Itachi reached forward and picked up the unlit orb out of Kisame's hand, and pressed it in his palm, bringing it to life.

-.-.-

Thanks to elric0sis/hikariharuno for editing this. I'm so sorry I send you like a hundred fics at once D:!


	3. Angel of Death

Escape From Haai Territory - Chapter 03: The Angel of Death

-.-.-

The two orbs filled the room with enough light to see, shadows of the fingers that held them could be seen against the walls.

Itachi turned to observe the room and noticed several small jets, enough for two people - the pilot and the navigator.

"Let's take that jet." Itachi pointed his light towards the one that he noticed has the biggest guns. "We might need those guns.

"Great, check the fuel levels while I find a way to open a door big enough for the jet to leave. Take Samehada, it can hack any jet for us to use without the key."

"It? Is Samehada really an 'it' when it has a life?"

"Not all people fall into the male / female binary." Kisame offered.

"Yeah but then you use 'they'."

"Well Samehada can correct me if it wants to."

Itachi didn't argue, he had a jet with fuel levels to check, but made a mental note to talk about it with Kisame later. Samehada skirted next to Itachi and seemed to crawl. The needles of its body made clinking sounds against the floor with every step.

The jet was easy enough to power, and completely fueled. There were several canisters of what Itachi assumed were fuel nearby as well, and Itachi briefly considered picking one up.

No. We need to hurry on out of here and the fuel will add weight. We need speed.

Itachi heard the rumbling of a garage door opening, and realized Kisame must have found a switch for the door. Instantly he turned his attention back to the jet.

Itachi sat down in the pilot's seat, and Samehada made itself comfortable in between the two seats, not that there was much space. Kisame came surging towards them, orb in his hand behind his body. The lights of the jet were enough to see - but perhaps Kisame also did not light to see?

Kisame jumped into the navigator's seat and buckled up at lightening speed, and Itachi already had the engine revved up when the lights came flickering on and loud footsteps were heard.

"Go, go, go!" Kisame's voice came from behind Itachi, sounding hoarse and murky.

Without a backwards glance, Itachi piloted the jet forward and they were in the air. Behind them gunshots filled the sky, but Itachi dodged them by driving as erratically as possible.

"You drive like a teenager!" Kisame yelled. "Who's drunk!"

"Thank you!" Itachi yelled back, over the sound of the wind they had no choice but to yell in order to be heard.

"That wasn't a compliment!" Kisame screamed as Itachi narrowly avoided a large mountainside cliff.

-.-.-

Captain Jiraiya's ship was interesting to say the least. It was an older model, but a rare and intriguing one. Sasuke recognized it as being one he too liked as a child. It was beautiful, but discontinued for safety concerns, both over the lack of sufficient oxygen compartments and the weakened walls.

"Is this ship safe?" He asked dubiously, to no one particular. He had nothing but a small bag of provisions he brought in the town and his ID card that contained all of his bank information and more.

"Of course it's safe! Otherwise why would we be here?" A voice, which Sasuke instantly decided was annoying, spoke.

"Because you're idiots?" Sasuke scoffed, turning to meet the voice. It belonged to a tall man with spikey blonde hair, azure blue eyes and the trademark fox whiskers that belonged to the species known as Kitsune.

Sasuke always hated Kitsunes. They were annoying and furry and lacked intelligence.

"Don't insult the crew members, newbie." Naruto's voice was almost harsh, and his eyes narrowed in anger. Despite his eyes showing anger, his lips poured in such a way that Sasuke couldn't help but chuckle.

"You are such a child."

"Excuse me? I'm forty-three."

"Oh? Forty-three and you still haven't grown any tails?" Sasuke teased.

Kitsune grew tails as they matured. A Kitsune with all nine tails was a rarity and a true sight to behold, they tended to be incredibly powerful, and intelligent.

"I'll have you know I have four tails."

Sasuke was dumbfounded. Four was impressive. Very impressive actually, most Kitsune went their entire lives and only managed to get two, and Kitsune had long lives. Even reaching three was a rarity, four was like meeting the leaders of their entire race.

"Where?" Sasuke asked, annoyed with himself for being impressed.

"Why would I show you? Jackass."

"It's a wonder an idiot like you ever managed to get one tail, much less four." Sasuke spoke with venomously.

"Break it up." The girl from earlier broke into the conversation. Now that Sasuke looked closely she had green veins crisscrossing over his visible body and emerald green eyes, which were now glaring at Sasuke.

"New guy, you don't have to try to fit in, but there is no point in picking a fight with any one of us, including Naruto."

"So the kid's name is Naruto?" Sasuke smirked. "I'll remember to forget it."

"Why you!" Naruto made to attack Sasuke and was held back by a girl with long blonde hair, and green veins like the girl with pink hair, who Sasuke remembered scolded Naruto earlier. "Don't try to stop me, Ino!"

"My name is Sakura." The girl pointed to herself, then towards Naruto and the other girl. "That's Ino. Stay on our good sides. This entire ship runs on us."

"Runs on you?" Sasuke asked curiously.

"We are both of the species known as Hana." Sakura explained. "Our power keeps the ship's oxygen supplies in check and our vines reinforce the ship. Any any moment we can... Choose to stop the oxygen flow in your room."

"You're threatening me."

"I am." Sakura glared back at Sasuke.

"I understand." Sasuke said. The ship was indeed safe. The residents were not. Were there any humans on this ship? Sasuke turned towards Naruto. "I apologize for my actions, Mr. Naruto."

"Mr. Naruto?" Naruto's nostrils flared and he moved his lips to the side as if in thought. "I like that."

"Don't get used to it." Sasuke couldn't help himself from responding in such a way. Idiot Kitsune.

-.-.-

They arrived within three hours to a location where Kisame claimed there was a ship large enough to traverse space. Kisame was right. The ship was huge, larger even than the police vessel Cuvier ship.

"What do we do?" Itachi asked, landing at a far enough distance that they wouldn't be seen.

"I actually think we will be just fine..." Kisame trailed off as they exited the ship. Samehada placed itself on Kisame's back, digging it's sharp needles into Kisame's clothes.

"What makes you say that?"

"Tonight is a holiday. We celebrate our victory in the battle of Urag Haai." Kisame said, his eyes on the colorful lights coming from a building near the spacecraft. "Everyone should be drinking and celebrating. We could easily make off with the ship."

"Excellent." Itachi beamed as he headed towards the ship.

It turned out to be easier than either of them ever expected. The ship was unarmed. It was unlocked. It was even fully fueled - that part wasn't really a surprise as it was docked and had likely been tended to recently. It was completely empty as far as either of them could tell, but checking the whole ship would be difficult.

"I'll go check the entire ship to make sure we are completely alone." Kisame said as he entered the pilot's compartment with Itachi. The compartment was huge, likely meant to be piloted by several pilots at once. Outside the pilot area was a command center meant to be manned by several people and even a meeting hall. Itachi didn't have time to check the rest of the ship. "Don't let anyone else in except me. Lock the doors behind me and get this ship into space. I'll toss anyone left in here out of the airlock."

"Don't kill them." Itachi scolded. "Just... Jail them. Surely a ship like this has a jail of sorts. Maybe we can use them."

"You are too compassionate." Kisame scoffed. "But fine. They don't know how lucky they are." Kisame said as he closed the door, exiting the pilot's room.

Itachi instantly latched it shut and began his work with Samehada, hacking the ship and preparing to move.

Outside, Kisame wandered the halls until he hears blood rushing. He could smell the pounding of the heart. A lesser Haai would not have been able to do it - but Kisame was no ordinary Haai.

The being was aware of both his and Itachi's existence. It had to be because it was excited, it was giving off the chemicals associated with adrenaline as it walked with assassin like silence, towards Kisame.

"I know you're there." Kisame spoke calmly, instantly alert. Whoever this was, it would be dangerous. They had skill.

"Oh? How rare. You are an interesting being." The figure stopped attempting to hide and came out of the shadows, Kisame's eyes widened and he took a step back.

It couldn't be... Could it?

-.-.-

"The girl... She might be what you're looking for." Kakuzu's dark, almost dusty sounding voice spoke.

"She is exactly what I'm looking for." A voice in the shadows responded sharply. "How much?"

"100,000 Seo." Kakuzu said firmly.

"50,000."

"90,000."

"60,000."

"I won't go any lower than 90,000."

The voice seemed to consider this, before responding. "75,000."

"80,000." Kakuzu didn't miss a beat.

"Deal."

Outside three children heard it all.

"Did he just sell me?" Konan asked in a whisper, her blue hair disheveled and blocking most of her golden eyes. Her pale fingers were intertwined in the small amount of space they had.

"No." Yahiko responded, his eyes narrowing in anger.

"He did." Nagato said gloomily.

"I said no, didn't I?" Yahiko responded. "We're getting out of here, believe in me. Let's get out. Now. Follow me."

Nagato and Konan nodded simultaneously, hope returning in both of their eyes in the form of a determined look.

-.-.-

"You're an Angel of Death." Kisame commented as the figure revealed itself.

The figure had emotionless eyes, as green as the blades of grass that brushed softly against the marshlands of Haai, they were bagged down making pink visible below them. The figure had white hair, oily and held back, on the front was a small amount held by a single band, disconnected from the rest. His hair parted in a Z and his skin was pale, paler than a ghost, it was as if no blood ran through his veins.

His body was tall, thin and yet muscular all the same. Out of one hand stretched a single , pointed bone.

"Some people call me that."

"You're the last of your kind." Kisame commented.

"What use is such information?" The man tilted his head just slightly to the side.

"What are you doing here?" Kisame asked.

"I'm a guard in this ship."

"Then why are your legs chained?"

"I'm a slave." The man seemed uninterested, words betrayed no emotion but as he spoke them Kisame was suddenly made aware of the scars that stretched over the man's body.

"I thought your kind healed instantly."

"We do. We have limits, however."

Someone had tortured this man to the point that his healing ability couldn't even keep up. It must have been intense and yet here he was, acting unaffected.

"What's your name?"

"Kimimaro." Kimimaro seemed surprised at the question, but in no hurry to kill the intruders. If anything, it seemed he was willing to converse.

"I'm Kisame." Kisame nodded towards Kimimaro. "How about you join me?"

"For what purpose? There is no meaning to joining you."

"Is there meaning in anything?" Kisame asked.

The Angel of Death seemed to consider this. "No, I suppose not."

"There doesn't need to be a reason, you can do what you want."

"I am a slave, I cannot."

"Yes you can. What binds you but your mind?"

"These shackles I cannot break. They pain me as long as I do not follow orders."

"Are they giving you pain right now?"

"Yes."

Kisame noticed now, that the shackled were glowing as they burned Kimimaro's skin, spikes were flowing through his legs from them, drawing blood. Kimimaro seemed unaffected.

"I will destroy the shackles."

"I will join you, then."

Kisame walked forward and examined the shackles, kneeling at Kimimaro's feet. They were made so any Haai could open them - Kisame placed his hands around them and used a power only a select few Haai had - one that generated pressure on his hands. Kisame used it in conjunction with water to create intense water pressure. Right now, he formed intense pressure against the shackles until they broke to pieces.

"Hold still, I'll get the spikes out." Kisame said, not even looking up as he pulled the spikes out of Kimimaro's legs one by one. "We will need to bandage these..."

"I can do it myself." Kimimaro said softly, his eyes never leaving Kisame.

"I can help."

"Very well."

-.-.-


End file.
